Lagos Holds Tourism Stakeholders Engagement Summit For Greater Lagos

 Yomi Durojaye 

 The Lagos State Government  Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture , on Thursday, held Stakeholders Summit  to strengthen collaboration, parnertship and unlock the state’s tourism potential for Greater Lagos.

The stakeholders were drawn from both the public and private sectors, including the Lagos State Transportation and Monitoring Authority, Lagos State Waterways Authority, and hospitality and tourism practitioners.

The event, was organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MTAC) at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, in her welcome address, said the gathering was evident of the state’s commitment to positioning Lagos as a leading, globally competitive tourism destination.

Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka

According to the commissioner, “Today’s conversations are designed to generate practical insights that will assist in enhancing our infrastructure, safety, strengthening regulatory frameworks, elevating service standards, and improving promotional strategies.

“These insights are critical as Lagos continues to attract growing local and international interest. We must ensure that our systems are efficient, inclusive, and responsive to the evolving needs of a dynamic global tourism industry.”

The continued positioning of Lagos as a top destination for leisure, business and cultural experience is a collective effort, and your roles are indispensable,” she said.

She urged participants to see their roles as part of a long-term strategic plan, not just for the December festivities.

In his presentation, the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki assured that his agency would deploy over 2,000 officers on Lagos road to take care of major routes on the Island, Lekki-Epe, Victoria Island and Ajah.

“I am giving the assurance that those who are coming from the diaspora have seamless mobility during the December period,” he said.

Panelists took turns to dissect issues around traffic management, waterfront and beach tourism, hospitality and the business of tourism in Lagos among others and they all agreed that concerted effort must be made to synergise operations during the December period in order to optimally unlock the potentials and opportunities therein.

In another presentation,  the Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Mr Lanre Mojola, said the agency’s mandate to regulate hospitality and entertainment facilities extended far beyond the festive season.

He said the commission’s role was to oversee and enforce safety standards for recreational spaces, including hotels, bars, lounges, beach resorts and event centres.

He said LSSC ensured safety in the facilities through inspections, emergency preparedness checks and compliance certification.

Highlighting the commission’s Four Es of Safety, which are: Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation, Mojola said LSSC was intensifying facility registration, audits and event permit requirements.

“All hospitality establishments operating in Lagos State –such as hotels, restaurants, bars, lounges, nightclubs, shortlets, beach resorts, event centres and other recreational facilities – are required to register with LSSC,” he said

Other agencies including the Lagos Ferry Service, LAGFERRY, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, (LASEPA), Lagos State Waterways Authority, (LASWA) among others called for compliance at all levels to achieve the state’s vision for a seamless and memorable December

Lagos Lines Up 100 Artiste For 2017 One Lagos Fiesta

…Olamide, Davido, KSA, Ayuba, Salawa Abeni, Others To Perform

...To be the biggest and the largest celebration in Nigeria

The Lagos State Government on Friday disclosed that over 100 artistes cutting across all genres would be performing at this year’s One Lagos Fiesta, its flagship yuletide revue scheduled to hold from December 24 till early hours of January 1, 2018.

Addressing journalists at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Aramide Giwanson, said the eight days non-stop Fiesta, which would hold in five different designated centres in Lagos simultaneously for eight days non-stop would consolidate on the success achieved last year.

She said this year’s edition would feature several A-list artistes, while several upcoming artists, dance group and cultural performances will combine to perform and thrill over 10 million Lagosians on daily basis for eight days.

Giwanson listed some of the A-list artists lined up for the Fiesta to include Olamide, Davido, King Sunny Ade, Adewale Ayuba, Salawa Abeni, Humble Smith, Small Doctor, Ras Kimono, Pasuma, Osupa, among others.

She said in line with the tradition, the event would hold across the five zones as it held last year including Ikeja (Agege Stadium), Badagry (Badagry Grammar School), Ikorodu (Ikorodu Town Hall), Lagos Island (Bar Beach) and Epe (Epe-Marina Beachfront), while the cross over night of December 31st into the New Year will hold at Eko Atlantic City.

“Tagged See, Feel and Explore Lagos, Lagos State Government with 2017 One Lagos Fiesta will round off and bid 2017 which has been a remarkable year of achievement farewell while a New Year is ushered in with arguably the biggest and the largest celebration in Nigeria with a record of 10million people in attendance”, Mrs Giwanson said.

The OLF, she said was specially designed to turn the five divisions of Lagos into a tourist destination for 8 days non-stop showcasing not less than 40 concerts all together across the city of Lagos while developing the local economy of these areas thereby making it self-sustaining during the festive period and after.

Lagos represent a diverse tribes and cultures of Nigeria with differences that typifies the philosophy behind the OLF which is the reason the administration of Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to position itself for project T.H.E.S.E. Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment, Sports for Excellence to drive and harness tourism in Lagos State.

The Special Adviser added that the same template, content and performance for all the venues as obtained in the previous edition would be maintained with little addition to give this year’s event a better edge, while noting that the only addition will be a new program titled Temitiyin.

“Temitiyin is a program conceived to recognize, promote appreciate acts of kindness by Lagosian and so individual from all divisions of the State who have displayed random acts of kindness to their communities will be shortlisted and one person per division will be honoured as winners.

“Our talent hunt program will also be slightly adjusted to discover, celebrate and reward youths in the State in the areas of dance, music, comedy, and other creative exploit with auditioning to start Tuesday 19th December to Thursday 21 December in all five divisions of the State and two qualified finalist from all the designated divisions will compete at the OLF with winners carting away between 150,000 and 50,000.”, Giwanson said.

Also speaking, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde assured that adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure safety of lives and property throughout the course of the fiesta.